Nintendo 3DS conference 2011 round-up news

Nintendo’s highly anticipated 3DS conference in Japan is over. Let’s do a little round-up on what was announced.

Hardware
After this week’s surprise announcement of the pink DSi XL, a pink 3DS has been announced now. Out October 20th in Japan, the pink little rascal joins the red, blue and black variations already available. And then there’s the controversial 3DS circle pad add-on. The bulky piece of plastic will be available on December 10th at a price of 1500 yen, which is about 10-15 dollar/euros. Several games will support the add-on. Apart from the already announced Monster Hunter 3DS game, there’s support for Resident Evil: Revelations, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, Ace Combat 3D and Kingdom Hearts 3D. Additionally, in November the 3DS will receive an update that enables 3D video recording, another feature that maybe should have been included from the start.

Cute.

Big titles
Some major franchises will make their return on the 3DS. For starters, Mario will return to the tennis courts in a new Mario Tennis instalment, adding gyroscopic controls to his game. Next we have Animal Crossing, which will bring its traditional gameplay to the 3D handheld, adding new modes and Spotpass features. Hardcore gamers can rejoice with the release of Fire Emblem for 3DS, bringing 2-player co-op to the table. Other games include a new Dynasty Warriors game, the aforementioned Ace Combat 3D and a Square Enix JRPG, which will incorporate the handheld’s AR functionalities. And it will be called Bravely Default: Flying Fairy. Wait, what?

There was also plenty of news for titles that have already been announced. Starting with Zelda, Nintendo have revealed that a revamped version of Four Swords will be available for free from September 28th 2011 to February 20th 2012, adding not only wireless local multiplayer, but also a new single player mode.
Mario Kart 7 will include new characters like Lakitu and Metal Mario, new or changed weapons like the wingless blue shell and a first person mode that can be played with the gyro controls. A release date has been set at December 4th this year. A release date for Super Mario 3D Land has also been announced. Mario will hit the stores on November 13th, about a week before the release of Skyward Sword for Wii. The last two months of 2011 will be epic. Unfortunately, Kid Icarus: Uprising has been delayed again. Apparently the game needs a bit more fine-tuning in the multiplayer department.

Monster Hunter
After the unveiling of Monster Hunter Tri G, one would think that 3DS owners have plenty of awesomeness to looks forward to. Think again, because a brand new Monster Hunter game is in the works as well. Where Monster Hunter Tri G is based on its big brother, Monster Hunter 4 will be an all-new entry for the franchise.